A convicted rapist and murderer behind bars at the state pen will not get a second chance a trial.

This will be Margaret Young's 32nd Christmas without her sister, Julie Jackson.

"Here's our Christmas tree and there are no presents under it for Julie," Young says. "It just doesn't ever go away."

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Julie, a UNM student, was kidnapped and murdered in 1981 by Michael Guzman. But as much as Young misses her sister, this holiday, she's getting a bit of relief. Guzman had recently asked a judge for a new trial, claiming the evidence didn't support his first-degree murder charge.

"It's been on my mind a lot," Young says.

The judge took months to make a decision, but finally, late last week, the District Attorney's office confirms the judge denied Guzman's request.

We shared the news with Young, who was relieved.

"I would have been real surprised if they'd granted him another trial because the crime was so heinous and so awful," she tells us, adding that the horrible crime makes the holidays especially tough.

"It's still hard this time of year, because she wanted a family," Young says.

But this Christmas, a small consolation for Margaret Young, knowing her sister's killer will continue to pay the price.